Hairbrush Cleaning Screen

ABSTRACT

A hair removing screen arrangement is displaceably attached to a hairbrush body. Bristles protrude from a surface of the hairbrush body through openings of a screen material of the screen arrangement. The screen material may include parallel wires or strands with rows of bristles received between neighboring strands, or a film layer with bristles protruding through holes in the film layer. The screen arrangement is attached on the clean hairbrush, and during the course of using the hairbrush, hair strands become matted among the bristles on top of the screen arrangement. By removing or moving the screen arrangement away from the brush body, the matted hair is removed from the bristles as an easily disposable hair clump on top of the screen arrangement. The displaceable attachment of the screen arrangement onto the brush body can involve e.g. a hinge, hook-and-loop fasteners, a snap-fit mechanism, or a latch arrangement.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device for removing hair from a hairbrush,and to a hairbrush incorporating such a device.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Various types of hairbrushes have long been used for brushing the hairof humans and animals such as horses, dogs and cats. Such hairbrushestypically include a plurality of brush bristles protruding from ahairbrush body, and a handle allowing the hairbrush to be grasped by aperson's hand, so as to use the hairbrush for brushing the person's oranimal's hair. A longstanding problem with such hairbrushes is thatloose strands of hair are removed from the person's head or the animal'sbody while brushing the hair with the hairbrush. Over the course ofseveral uses of the hairbrush, these loose hair strands become entangledand matted in the brush bristles. The result is an unsightly andunhygienic clump or matt of hair entangled in the brush bristles, whichrenders the hairbrush less functional or even non-functional.Especially, the hair forms a matt directly at the base of the bristles,on the surface of the hairbrush body, where it becomes very difficult toremove.

The above described problem has long been recognized, and variousapproaches exist to try to address this problem, by removing the clumpor matt of accumulated hair from the brush bristles. Typically, peopleuse any available pointed implement, such as a comb, a hair pick, apencil, a chopstick, a knife, or scissors to try to remove the matt orclump of hair from the brush bristles. Any such separate device or toolused for removing hair from a brush can easily be lost or misplaced, sothat the hairbrush user is often left looking for any available pencil,chopstick, etc. for trying to dislodge the matted hair out of the brushbristles. Such a process using any available pointed tool is generallyonly partially successful at removing the hair, and is often difficult,time-consuming and frustrating because of its ineffectiveness. Also, thehair that is removed tends to come out of the brush in pieces orindividual strands, which are cumbersome to contain and dispose of, sothat such removed hair itself tends to make a mess. It would bedesirable, but has previously not been achievable, to remove the matt ofhair from a hairbrush as a one-piece clump that is easily disposable.

Further in the prior art, specialized machines or devices have also beendeveloped for removing the hair from the brush bristles of hairbrushes,but such devices are complex and presumably costly, and likely onlypartially effective. Such machines or devices are also not as portableas the brush itself, and thus cannot be taken along with the brush atall times. Therefore, such devices have not found widespread use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide aneffective, simple, economical and portable device for removing hair froma hairbrush. It is another object of the invention to minimize thechance of losing or misplacing the hairbrush cleaning device, and toensure that the device is always available with the brush, by attachingthe device to the hairbrush. Still another object of the invention is toprevent the matting and compaction of hair strands at the base of thebrush bristles in the first place, so that removal of the hair strandsis facilitated. Yet a further object of the invention is to provide adevice that allows hair to be removed from a hairbrush as a singlecompact clump or matt of hair that is easily disposable. The inventionfurther aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art,and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the presentspecification. The attainment of these objects is, however, not arequired limitation of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, it will now bedescribed in connection with example embodiments thereof, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of ahairbrush incorporating a hairbrush cleaning device according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of features of a snap-fitengagement arrangement connecting the hair removing screen arrangementto the hairbrush body;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of latch members connecting thehair removing screen arrangement to the hairbrush body;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing hook-and-loop fastenerstrips connecting the hair removing screen arrangement to the hairbrushbody; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of ahairbrush incorporating a hairbrush cleaning screen according to theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS AND OF THE BESTMODE OF THE INVENTION

According to a first embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 1, aninventive hairbrush 1 includes a hairbrush body 2, a handle 3 extendingfrom an end of the hairbrush body 2, plural brush bristles 4 protrudingsubstantially perpendicularly from an upper surface 6 of the hairbrushbody 2, and a special hair removing screen arrangement 10 displaceablyattached to the hairbrush body 2. “Displaceably attached” means that thescreen arrangement 10 is connected temporarily or permanently to thehairbrush body 2, but the screen arrangement 10 can be selectively movedor displaced relative to the hairbrush body 2, as will be describedbelow. This can be carried out preferably by hand without the use of anytool. Thus, “displaceably attached” includes “removably attached” andalso “permanently yet movably attached”.

The hairbrush body 2, the handle 3, and the bristles 4 can have anyconventionally known or future developed construction, materials,configuration, and arrangement of a hairbrush. For example, the brushbody 2 and the handle 3 may be made of wood, metal, plastic orreinforced plastic composite material, while the bristles 4 may be madeof plastic, metal, or natural animal bristles. The handle is generallysized and configured to be graspable by a person's hand so as to holdthe hairbrush. The bristles preferably all extend with the bristle axesthereof parallel to one another, especially in the embodiments of FIGS.1 to 4, to facilitate replacement of the screen arrangement 10 on thebrush body 2 after the removal of the screen arrangement for removinghair from the brush. In FIGS. 1 to 4, the bristles 4 are arranged inparallel rows 5 on the upper surface 6 of the hairbrush body 2, withparallel blank or bristle-free strip-shaped areas 5′ between neighboringrows 5. The bristles 4 may be arranged as individual bristlesrespectively spaced apart from one another in each row 5, or may bearranged as a plurality of bristles, e.g. two or three bristles,respectively grouped together to form a tuft of bristles, whereby thesuccessive groups or tufts are then spaced apart from one another alongthe row 5. Typically the spacing between bristles or bristle groupswithin the row 5 is less than the spacing between neighboring rows 5that defines the bristle-free stip-shaped area 5′, but instead thebristles can be spaced farther apart in the rows.

The inventive features especially relate to the hair removing screenarrangement 10, as well as its combination, interaction and cooperationwith the hairbrush components.

In the first embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 1, the hairremoving screen arrangement 10 includes a perimeter frame 14, as well asscreen material 11 supported by the perimeter frame 14. The perimeterframe 14 can be made of any suitable material (or material combination),such as wood, metal, plastic, or reinforced plastic composite, which issufficiently strong and stiff to support the screen material ii. In thisregard, the perimeter frame 14 is stiffer against bending than thescreen material 11.

The screen material 11 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 includes aplurality of strands 12 that extend parallel to one another and arespaced apart from one another with openings 13 therebetween. The strands12 are preferably metal wires, or strands, fibers or filaments ofplastic, fiber reinforced plastic composite, or any material that hassufficient tensile strength to maintain the substantially linearconfiguration of the strand 12. The strands 12 are dimensioned,oriented, and spaced apart from one another to be in registration withand fit in the blank or bristle-free strip-shaped areas 5′ between theneighboring rows 5 of bristles 4. Thus, the rows 5 of bristles 4 are inregistration with and fit respectively into the openings 13 or spacesbetween the neighboring wires or strands 12.

While FIG. 1 merely shows two and a half rows 5 of the bristles 4, itshould be understood that most of the upper surface 6 of the hairbrushbody 2 (the area bounded within the perimeter frame 14) is covered withsuch rows 5 of bristles 4. The remaining bristles 4 have been omittedfrom the drawing figures for the sake of clarity and simplicity.

The strands 12 may be separate individual wires or strands. In thatcase, the opposite free ends of each wire or strand are secured in or onthe perimeter frame 14, for example by being embedded or molded into theplastic frame 14, or by being wrapped around the frame 14 and twistedback onto the strand, or by being wrapped around an internal metalmember that is embedded and molded in a plastic frame, or by beingwedged in a respective hole in the frame, or any other suitable manner.Alternatively, the plural strands 12 can be portions of one continuouswire, fiber or filament that is threaded back and forth in a serpentineor zig-zag manner through holes in the ends of the perimeter frame 14,whereby only the two ends of the overall wire, fiber or filament need tobe secured to the perimeter frame 14. In any event, the strands 12 areunder sufficient tension to hold them substantially straight, while someamount of curving or deflection is permissible and may be desirable, forexample if the upper surface 6 of the hairbrush body 2 is not a flatplanar surface but rather a curved surface. The tension and thestraightness or curvature of the strands 12 simply needs to besufficient so that the strands 12 can be positioned uniformly along thebase of the bristles 4 while allowing most of the length of the bristles4 to protrude outwardly beyond the screen arrangement 10.

The screen arrangement 10 is arranged on the hairbrush body 2 preferablywithout any hair strands tangled or matted in the brush bristles 4, e.g.when the hairbrush is being manufactured, or before sale of the newhairbrush to the consumer, or even as a retrofit onto a used hairbrush,whereby the used hairbrush is first thoroughly cleaned by some othermeans before the screen arrangement 10 is arranged and mounted on thehairbrush body 2. In any event, the screen arrangement 10 is fitted downover the bristles 4 so that the rows 5 of bristles respectively alignwith and protrude upwardly through the openings 13 between the wires orstrands 12, i.e. the strands 12 fit respectively down into the blankbristle-free areas 5′ between the neighboring rows 5 of bristles. Thus,with the screen arrangement 10 arranged on the hairbrush body 2, thebrush bristles 4 intersect and protrude through the screen material 11,namely through the openings 13 between the strands 12. The screenarrangement 10 is pushed down against and extends closely along theupper surface 6 of the hairbrush body 2 (e.g. with less than 7 mm, orless than 5 mm, or less than 2 mm, or even no gap between the strands 12and the upper surface 6 of the brush), so that most (e.g. at least 90%or at least 95%) of the length of the bristles 4 protrudes outwardlyfrom the screen arrangement 10. Thereby the bristles are still readilyadapted for brushing the hair of a human or animal with the hairremoving screen arrangement 10 mounted on the hairbrush body. Also,thereby any hair strands that become entangled on the bristles cannotget matted directly at the base of the bristles on the surface of thebrush.

The screen arrangement 10 is displaceably attached to the hairbrush body2, such that the screen arrangement 10 is selectively manuallydisplaceable or movable toward the hairbrush body 2 and away from thehairbrush body 2. This displaceable attachment is achieved in any ofvarious different manners. In FIG. 1, the screen arrangement 10 issubstantially permanently attached to the hairbrush body 2 by a hinge 15that allows the screen arrangement 10 to be pivotally displaceablerelative to the hairbrush body 2, about the pivot axis of the hinge 15.Preferably, the hinge 15 extends along one of the shorter ends of theperimeter frame 14, while the wires or strands 12 extend parallel to oneanother in the longer dimension direction of the perimeter frame 14.Thus, the strands 12 extend substantially perpendicularly relative tothe pivot axis of the hinge 15. This facilitates removal from the brushof hair strands that tend to be oriented transversely to the longerdimension, as will be discussed below.

At its end opposite the hinge 15, the perimeter frame 14 is releasablyattached to the hairbrush body 2 in any of various different ways. InFIG. 1, this end of the perimeter frame 14 is releasably attached to thehairbrush body 2 by hook-and-loop fasteners 16, such as Velcro™ brandfasteners. Preferably, the loop material strip of the hook-and-loopfastener 16 is affixed to the hairbrush body 2, while the hook materialstrip of the hook-and-loop fastener 16 is affixed to the screenarrangement 10. While the placement of the two parts of thehook-and-loop fastener 16 can also be reversed, then the hook materialstrip affixed to the hairbrush body 2 will tend to entangle hair strandstherein, if the hairbrush is used without the screen arrangement 10mounted thereon. By placing the loop material of the hook-and-loopfastener 16 on the hairbrush body 2, the hairbrush can be used withoutthe screen arrangement 10 attached thereto, and the hairbrush is stillfully functional as a normal hairbrush without any problems orimpairment of its normal functioning.

FIG. 2 shows an alternative manner of displaceably attaching the screenarrangement 10 onto the hairbrush body 2. The only difference betweenFIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is that the hook-and-loop fastener 16 has beenomitted, and instead replaced by a snap-fit mechanism 25 that includes aprotrusion 26 protruding integrally and unitarily from the perimeterframe 14, and snap-engagement prongs or tabs 27 protruding from thehairbrush body 2 or the handle 3. The protrusion 26 and thesnap-engagement prongs or tabs 27 are dimensioned, configured andpositioned so that the protrusion 26 can be engaged with a snap-fitbetween the snap-engagement prongs or tabs 27, simply by pressing theperimeter frame 14 down toward the hairbrush body 2. Alternatively, todisplace the screen arrangement 10 away from the hairbrush body 2, theprotrusion 26 can simply be grasped or pried upwardly with a person'sfingers, in order to release its snap-engagement in the prongs or tabs27. The other end of the perimeter frame 14 is pivotally attached to thehairbrush body 2 by the hinge 15. All other features of the hairbrushaccording to FIG. 2 correspond to FIG. 1, but many details have beenomitted from FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity and simplicity.

FIG. 3 shows a further alternative embodiment of a displaceableattachment of the hair removing screen arrangement 10 onto the hairbrushbody 2. In comparison to FIG. 1, the hook-and-loop fastener 16 has beenomitted, and instead this end of the perimeter frame 14 is releasablyattached to the hairbrush body 2 by a latch arrangement 30 includinglatch members 31 that protrude from the perimeter frame 14 andselectively engage catches or hooks 32 provided on the hairbrush body 2.The latch members 31 are preferably plastic straps or tabs that protrudeintegrally and unitarily from the perimeter frame 14 and that each havean opening at the free end thereof. This opening is selectively engagedonto or released from the catch or hook 32 that is provided on orprotrudes integrally and unitarily from the hairbrush body 2. The otherend of the perimeter frame 14 is pivotally attached to the hairbrushbody 2 by the hinge 15, similarly as in FIG. 1. All of the otherfeatures of the hairbrush according to FIG. 3 correspond to those ofFIG. 1, but many details have been omitted from FIG. 3 for the sake ofclarity and simplicity.

Still a further variant of the displaceable attachment of the hairremoving screen arrangement 10 to the hairbrush 1 is shown in FIG. 4.Compared to FIG. 1, the hook-and-loop fastener 16 still releasablyattaches an end of the perimeter frame 14 (near the brush handle 3) tothe hairbrush body 2, but the hinge 15 has been omitted and insteadreplaced by another hook-and-loop fastener 16′. As mentioned above, theloop material strip of the hook-and-loop fastener 16′ is preferablyaffixed (for example by an adhesive backing) to the hairbrush body 2,while the hook material strip of the hook-and-loop fastener 16′ ispreferably affixed onto the perimeter frame 14.

In another variant that is not illustrated in connection with the screenarrangement of FIGS. 1 to 4, the releasable attachment involves areleasable, pressure sensitive adhesive that releasably adheres thescreen arrangement 10 onto the hairbrush body 2, either with or withouta hinge 15. For example, two strips of adhesive replace the twohook-and-loop fasteners 16 and 16′ of FIG. 4. The pressure sensitiveadhesive can be repeatedly released and repeatedly re-adhere the screenarrangement onto the hairbrush body.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the hair removing screen arrangement 10 ispermanently attached to the hairbrush body 2 by the hinge 15, but thescreen arrangement 10 is displaceable or movable relative to thehairbrush body 2 in that the screen arrangement 10 can be pivoted aboutthe pivot axis of the hinge 15 as indicated by the pivot arrow 17. Thissame pivoting movability of the screen arrangement 10 relative to thehairbrush body 2 pertains in the arrangements of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 aswell. On the other hand, in the arrangement according to FIG. 4, thescreen arrangement 10 is removably attached to the hairbrush body 2 bythe hook-and-loop fasteners 16 and 16′, so that the screen arrangement10 can selectively be entirely removed and moved away from the hairbrushbody 2. Thus, as indicated by the motion arrows 19 in FIG. 4, the screenarrangement 10 may selectively be completely removed from the hairbrushbody 2, either for cleaning the hairbrush or if it is desired to use thehairbrush without the screen arrangement.

It should also be understood that another snap-fit mechanism 25according to FIG. 2, or another latch arrangement 30 according to FIG. 3can additionally be provided instead of the hinge 15 at the other end ofthe perimeter frame 14. Thus, the releasable attachment arrangementsaccording to FIGS. 2 and 3 can be used at both ends or at both sides ofthe perimeter frame 14 to achieve a completely removable attachment ofthe screen arrangement 10 on the hairbrush body 2, in the mannerexemplified in FIG. 4. As a further alternative, the positions of thehinge and the releasable attachment can be reversed.

The screen arrangement 10 according to the invention is displaceablyattached (in any manner as disclosed herein) on the hairbrush body 2,preferably when the hairbrush is entirely or substantially clean andfree of hair strands, for example when the hairbrush is new or has beenthoroughly cleaned. The screen arrangement 10 is mounted on thehairbrush so that the perimeter frame 10 extends closely along the uppersurface 6 of the hairbrush body 2, so that the bristles 4 protrudethrough and outwardly from the screen material 11 of the screenarrangement 10. The hairbrush 1 can then be used normally for brushing aperson's or an animal's hair in a normal manner, exactly as thehairbrush would be used without the screen arrangement 10.

Over the course of several uses of the hairbrush 1, strands of hairbecome matted or entangled among the bristles 4 to form a matted clumpof hair 18 near the base of the bristles 4 but on top of or outwardlyfrom the screen material 11, i.e. above or on top of the wires orstrands 12 in the view orientation of FIGS. 1 to 4. When an undesired orunacceptable amount of the matted clump of hair 18 has accumulated (overthe course of several hair brushings), and it is desired to remove thematted clump of hair 18 from the hairbrush, to achieve this the screenarrangement 10 simply needs to be displaced or moved away from thehairbrush body 2. Namely, the hook-and-loop fastener 16 of FIG. 1, orthe snap-fit mechanism 25 of FIG. 2, or the latch arrangement 30 of FIG.3 is simply disengaged, and then the screen arrangement 10 is pivoted asindicated by arrow 17 about the hinge 15. Alternatively, with thearrangement of FIG. 4, the two hook-and-loop fasteners 16 and 16′ aredisengaged and then the screen arrangement 10 is lifted away from thehairbrush body 2 as indicated by motion arrows 19. In any event, movingthe screen arrangement 10 away from the hairbrush body 2 in this mannercauses the wires or strands 12 to lift up the matted clump of hair 18and remove it from the bristles 4. The matted clump of hair 18 isremoved smoothly and cleanly, and remains as a clump or matt of hair ontop of the screen arrangement 10. This matt or clump of hair 18 can thenbe easily removed from the screen arrangement 10 with one's fingers, anddiscarded as a single clump of hair. If any few hair strands stillremain somewhat entangled or engaged with the bristles 4, such remainingstrands of hair have been combed and pulled upwardly by the screenarrangement 10 and thereby loosened from the bristles 4, so that anysuch remaining few strands of hair can also be easily grasped with one'sfingers and pulled away from the bristles 4, and then easily disposedof.

Once the hairbrush has been cleaned of such matted or clumped hair, thenthe screen arrangement 10 is again mounted onto the hairbrush body 2 asdescribed above (reversing the motion of the arrow 17 or 19), so thatthe bristles protrude through and outwardly from the screen arrangement10. The brush is then ready for further use.

The inventor has constructed and tested a prototype of the hairbrush 1with the screen arrangement 10 according to FIG. 4, and it was found towork as described above. The inventor found the cleaning effectivenessor results to be substantially improved over the prior art use of apencil, chopstick, comb or the like for individually poking and pryinghair out of the brush bristles 4. The inventor also found the cleaningresults to be surprising, because the results were so good and theinventor previously did not know and could not have expected whether theinventive screen arrangement would work as hoped. The effectiveness ofthe inventive screen arrangement may be supported or benefitted by thefact that the hair strands accumulating in the matted clump of hair 18are predominantly oriented transversely across the wires or strands 12,due to the typical predominant brushing direction of the hairbrush 1stroking the hair strands in a direction transverse or substantiallyperpendicular to the wires or strands 12. Thereby the hair strands arealigned substantially perpendicularly to the wire strands 12. The screenarrangement 10 is then very effective at removing and lifting the mattedclump of hair 18 from the bristles 4. Based on an understanding of thecomponents of the other embodiments disclosed herein (e.g. theembodiments of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5), it is expected that the otherembodiments will also work and perform as effectively as the embodimentof FIG. 4.

A second embodiment of a screen arrangement 10′ according to theinvention is shown in FIG. 5. This screen arrangement 10′ does notcomprise a perimeter frame, but rather comprises a screen material ifincluding plural layers 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E of a plastic film, whichmay be made of any sufficiently tough plastic material, or a metallizedplastic such as a metallized polyester film available as Mylar™ brandfilm. The bottom film layer 11E is adhesively attached by an adhesivebacking onto the upper surface 6 of the hairbrush body 2. Eachsuccessive film layer 11D, 11C, 11B, 11A is adhesively attached by itsadhesive backing onto the preceding layer. Each layer 11A, 11B, 11C,11D, 11E has a plurality of holes 13′ providing the openings 13 throughwhich the brush bristles 4 protrude from the upper surface 6 of thehairbrush body 2. This screen material if must be provided on the uppersurface 6 of the hairbrush body 2 during the manufacture of thehairbrush, whereby for example, the brush bristles 4 are insertedthrough the holes 13′ into correspondingly located holes in thehairbrush body 2 for anchoring the bristles 4 into the hairbrush body 2.Alternatively, if the bristles 4 can be held in registration with theholes 13′, then the screen material if can be arranged onto the bristlesand adhesively attached onto the upper surface 6 of the hairbrush body 2after the bristles 4 have been installed in the hairbrush body. Withoutsuch registration of the bristles 4 with the holes 13′, it would not bepossible to arrange the screen material if onto the bristles 4.

Thus, the ultimate user of the hairbrush cannot conveniently place orreplace the screen material if onto the hairbrush body 2. Because thescreen material if comprises plural layers 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E offilm material, the user of the hairbrush simply peels off one of thelayers 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E when it is desired to clean the brush byremoving the matted clump of hair 18 that has accumulated on top of thescreen material layer over the course of several uses of the brush. Inthis regard, the adhesive backing of each film layer 11A, 11B, 11C, 11Dand 11E is a releasable adhesive, so that the respective layer caneasily be peeled up according to the arrow 20 and thereby removed fromthe hairbrush while removing the matted clump of hair 18 from thebristles 4. Thus, in the example embodiment shown in FIG. 5, because thescreen material 11 includes five film layers 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D and 11E,the hairbrush of FIG. 5 can be cleaned, i.e. a matted clump of hair 18can be removed, a total of five times over the life of the hairbrush bypeeling up a successive film layer. After all of the film layers 11A,11B, 11C, 11D and 11E have been peeled off and removed, thereafter thehairbrush can be used further as a normal hairbrush without the hairremoval feature according to the invention. More or fewer layers ofscreen material 11 can be provided as desired

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be appreciated that it is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the appendedclaims. It should also be understood that the present disclosureincludes all possible combinations of any individual features recited inany of the appended claims. The abstract of the disclosure does notdefine or limit the claimed invention, but rather merely abstractscertain features disclosed in the application.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

-   1 hairbrush-   2 hairbrush body-   3 handle-   4 brush bristles-   5 group, e.g. row of bristles 4-   5′ blank bristle-free strip-shaped area between rows 5-   6 upper surface of hairbrush body-   10 screen arrangement-   10′ second embodiment of screen arrangement-   11 screen material-   11′ second embodiment of screen material-   11A to E layers of plastic film-   12 strands, e.g. wires-   13 openings-   13′ second embodiment of openings, i.e. individual holes-   14 perimeter frame-   15 hinge-   16 releasable attachment, e.g. hook-and-loop fastener-   16′ releasable attachment, e.g. hook-and-loop fastener-   17 arrow, pivot motion about hinge 15-   18 matted clump of hair-   19 arrow, motion of removing screen arrangement 10-   20 arrow, motion of removing film layer 11A-   25 snap-fit mechanism-   26 protrusion-   27 snap-engagement prongs or tabs-   30 latch arrangement-   31 latch member, e.g. plastic strap-   32 catch or hook

1. A hairbrush for brushing human or animal hair comprising: a hairbrush body; brush bristles protruding from a surface of said hairbrush body; a handle connected to said hairbrush body, wherein said handle is sized and configured to be graspable by a person's hand so as to hold said hairbrush; and a hair removing screen arrangement that is mounted on and displaceably attached to said hairbrush body, and that comprises screen material bounding openings through which respective ones or groups of said brush bristles extend, such that said brush bristles intersect and protrude through said screen material so that said bristles are adapted for brushing the human or animal hair with said hair removing screen arrangement mounted on said hairbrush body.
 2. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said screen arrangement is displaceably attached to said hairbrush body by a releasable attachment that can be released such that said screen arrangement can be moved away from said hairbrush body so that said brush bristles no longer intersect and protrude through said screen material.
 3. The hairbrush according to claim 2, wherein said releasable attachment comprises a hook-and-loop fastener including a member with plural loops and a member with plural hooks adapted to releasably hook into said loops, wherein a first one of said members is secured on said screen arrangement and a second one of said members is secured on said hairbrush body at a location opposite from and in registration with said first one of said members.
 4. The hairbrush according to claim 2, wherein said releasable attachment comprises an adhesive that releasably adheres said screen arrangement on said hairbrush body.
 5. The hairbrush according to claim 4, wherein said adhesive is a pressure-sensitive, releasable and re-adherable adhesive.
 6. The hairbrush according to claim 2, wherein said releasable attachment comprises a snap-fit combination of a first part of said screen arrangement that releasably snap-fits into engagement with a second part of said hairbrush body.
 7. The hairbrush according to claim 2, wherein said releasable attachment comprises a latch member that can be selectively engaged or disengaged to secure or release said screen arrangement relative to said hairbrush body.
 8. The hairbrush according to claim 2, further comprising a hinge pivotally connecting said screen arrangement to said hairbrush body, so that said screen arrangement can be pivoted about said hinge to move said screen arrangement pivotally away from said hairbrush body after release of said releasable attachment.
 9. The hairbrush according to claim 2, wherein said screen arrangement is not permanently attached to said hairbrush body, so that said screen arrangement can be entirely separated and removed from said hairbrush body after release of said releasable attachment.
 10. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said screen arrangement has an inner surface and an outer surface facing opposite one another, and said inner surface extends closely along said surface of said hairbrush body from which said brush bristles protrude.
 11. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said screen material comprises at least one plastic sheet having said openings being respective individual holes perforated through said plastic sheet.
 12. The hairbrush according to claim ii, wherein said at least one plastic sheet comprises a plurality of said plastic sheets layered one upon another in a stack of said sheets, wherein said holes of all of said plastic sheets are located in registration with one another, and wherein each one of said brush bristles extends through respective holes of all of said plastic sheets.
 13. The hairbrush according to claim 12, further comprising a releasable adhesive on a back surface of each one of said plastic sheets, wherein a first one of said plastic sheets is releasably adhered by said releasable adhesive onto said surface of said hairbrush body from which said brush bristles protrude, whereby said screen arrangement is displaceably attached to said hairbrush body, and wherein each successive one of said plastic sheets after said first one in said stack of said sheets is releasably adhered by said releasable adhesive onto an adjacent preceding one of said plastic sheets in said stack of said sheets.
 14. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said openings are respective individual holes that are each receptively sized and located to have individual ones of said brush bristles respectively extending through individual ones of said holes.
 15. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said openings are respective individual holes that are each respectively sized, configured and located to have a respective group of said brush bristles respectively extending through each respective one of said holes.
 16. The hairbrush according to claim 1, wherein said screen arrangement further comprises a perimeter frame that carries and supports said screen material, and that is displaceably attached to said hairbrush body, wherein said perimeter frame has a higher rigidity against bending than said screen material.
 17. The hairbrush according to claim 16, wherein said brush bristles are arranged in rows of said brush bristles, linear blank spaces without bristles exist between adjacent ones of said rows, said screen material comprises plural strands that respectively extend longitudinally along said linear blank spaces between said rows of said brush bristles, said openings of said screen material are elongate open spaces between said strands, and said rows of said brush bristles respectively extend through said elongate open spaces.
 18. The hairbrush according to claim 17, wherein said strands are metal wires.
 19. The hairbrush according to claim 17, wherein said strands are plastic filaments. 